drainboard and rim construction



March 31, 1964 GA. SCHARMER smx, DRAINBOARD AND RIM CONSTRUCTIONOriginal Filed Sept. 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIW FIG.

8 42 O X/ 4 2 2 2 O M M Q 4 m B E 8 I 2 E n: /O 40 3 w/ 4 a i m Q 8 4 44 52 )4 GEORGE A. SCHARMER ATTORNEY March 31, 1964 G A. SCHARMER SINK,DRAINBOARD AND RIM CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Sept. 21, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ZOL FIG.8

INVENTOR.

GEORGE A. SCHARMER fi l-m ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,126,552 SINK,DRAINBOARD AND RIM CONSTRUCTION George Alexander Scharmer, Waldwick, NJ.

(83 @liver Place, Ringwood, NJ.) Continuation of application Ser. No.841,241, Sept. 21, 1959. This application May 18, 1962, Ser. No. 198,4008 Claims. (Cl. 4-187) The present invention relates to the constructionof sinks, drainboards and like articles which are set into openings in acounter top from above. A particular feature of the invention relates torim construction which makes installation of a sink, drainboard or thelike a mere matter of snapping the rim into place in the opening whichhas been prepared by securing fastening strips to the edges of theopening. Another feature relates to drainboard-sink combinationsproviding double duty work areas, one being the sink of suflicient depthto hold dishwater, dish pans and the like and the other being a shallowpan recessed from the rim flange a distance relatively short withrespect to the sink depth which is ideal for vegetable preparation, as aspray surface and the like.

The rim construction for sinks, drainboards and the like made inaccordance with the present invention comprises two parts. One part isan outwardly extending flange adapted to rest on a counter top adjacentto an opening therein with a fastening strip secured thereto andextending downwardly therefrom. This strip has a plurality of outwardlyextending projections spaced a uniform distance from the under surfaceof the flange. The second part is a cooperating fastening strip to besecured to the counter top with its top edge flush with the counter topand having projection engaging surfaces, e.g., the lower edge of thestrip, spaced from the top edge a distance corresponding practically tothe aforementioned distance of the projections from the flange. When therim and the associated parts are forced past the cooperating fasteningstrip the projections snap under the latter and hold the parts firmlytogether. i

The foregoing and other features of the invention are described moreparticularly in the following specification, taken in conjunction withthe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the one form of sinkdrainboardcombination units embodying the present invention set in a counter topwhich is fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section on the line 22 of FIG. 1 on a largerscale and with some parts disproportionately large for clarity ofillustration of the structure;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view from below to show thecooperation of the fastening strips when the unit is installed in acounter top;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a counter top, shown fragmentarily, withthe opening therein prepared for receiving a sink-drainboard unit suchas illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the fastening strips andrelated parts in partially installed position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a different embodiment of therim construction;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side view of the fastening strip of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a different form of sink-drainboard unitset in a counter top which is fragmentarily shown; and

F IG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8 on alarger scale and with some parts disproportionately large for clarity ofillustration of the structure.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly FIGS.

3,125,552 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 1 to 5 thereof, reference numeral 1designates the sinkdrainboard unit of this embodiment of the inventionset in a counter top 2 in a kitchen of which only the fragmentaryportion of the wall is illustrated. The counter top is shown ascomprising a wooden under piece 4, e.g., a piece of /2 or 4 inchplywood, covered on the top surface with a suitable material such aslinoleum, plastic laminates or the like.

The sink-drainboard unit 1 comprises a flat rim stainless metal sink 10with its rim 12 welded to the sheet 14 of stainless metal which formsthe surface surrounding an opening 16 in the sheet 14 to provide accessto the sink. Instead of a sink any other type of kitchen appliance suchas a gas burner, an electric heater coil, a garbage grinder and disposalunit, or the like could be mounted in a kitchen cabinet in the samegeneral manner, and it is intended that any claim referring to anopening in the metal sheet to provide access to a kitchen appliance beconstrued broadly to include any one or more of these and relatedappliances. The weld 13 is so made that when the joint is ground andpolished it gives the appearance of being an integral structure, inaccordance with current practice in making up sink-drain-board units.

A marginal flange 20 surrounds the sink-drainboard unit and rests on thecovering 5 just beyond the edges of an opening 22 cut into the cabinettop 2, as seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. The marginal flange is substantiallyflat from its inner to its outer edge, i.e., it is substantiallystraight in cross section so that when it rests on the covering 5 thereis no bump or ridge other than the thickness of the sheet 14. It formsthe finished rim for the unit 1, having no perforation for fasteningmeans, and it may be in the same general plane as the metal sheet 14 butit is preferably offset vertically above it by a wall 24 which connectsthe inner edge of the flange with the outer edge of the sheet.

The sheet metal piece 14, the walls 24 and the flanges 20 may all bemade of the same stainless metal sheet, e.g., by deep drawing or bycutting the corners so that the sheet can be bent along the necessarylines and then welded together, ground and polished to appear like adeep drawn unit.

Preferably the flange is bent on a downward slope toward its outer edgeso that when the unit is placed in the opening in the counter top 2 theouter edge contacts the covering 5 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5 for apurpose later described.

The flange 20 is imperforate, is integral with the metal sheet 14 and itextends substantially straight outwardly, either from the top edge ofthe wall 24 when it is offset vertically from the general horizontalplane of the sheet 14 or from a comparable position of the sheet when itlies in the same general plane, at an angle from zero to a few degreesdownwardly from the horizontal. This construction permits the drainboardand sink unit to be lowered from above into the opening 22 cut into thecounter top 2.

The unit 1 as described above may be designated as a double duty sinkand drainboard in that two work areas are provided. One of these is thesink it? which is of any desired depth suitable for the type of work ahousewife performs best in a sink, e.g., dish washing, or it may havegreater depth such as a slop sink usually has. The other is the recesseddrainboard area which is a shallow pan having the wall 24 on three sideswhich prevents water from flowing out onto the counter area. It makes anideal work area for preparation of vegetables, for spraying things suchas washed dishes, vegetables, dried clothes, etc., with water from aspray device such as frequently associated with a kitchen faucet. Thedrainboard area can be a plane or it may be sloped slightly toward thesink for ready drainage.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 the kitchen faucet 2d of any desired design andconstruction is mounted on the sheet 14 and is connected through holes23 in the sheet metal to water supply lines 30.

In FIGS. 8 and 9 the rear flange 2% is made much wider than flange 29 onthe front and two ends so that the faucet 26 can be mounted on theflange level rather than the recessed drainboard level. This wide rearflange is preferably used where kitchen appliances operated byelectricity are used with or near the sink-drainboard unit, e.g., amotor driven garbage grinder, dish washer, electric oven and stoveunits, etc., since push button controls 32 can be mounted in said flangesafe from water flowing into the controls from the drainboard area. Awork board 34 can be used with good advantage in this embodiment of thesinledrainboard unit which has a width about equal to the distancebetween the front and rear walls 24 and a length about half the distancebetween the end walls 24 so that the board is slidable over the sinkopening when it is desired to have a work surface larger than, or ofdifferent nature in addition to, the drainboard or shallow pan area. Thework board 34 can be made of wood, plastic, metal or the like, butpreferably is wooden.

A double duty sink-drainboard unit embodying the invention as describedmay be secured in the counter top in any desired manner. A preferred rimconstruction, which can be used also with other sink and drainboardconstructions, comprises means on the drainboard below the flange 20 toengage the counter top and pull the inner edge of the flange downwardlywith reference to the counter top and thereby put the flange understress to hold the outer edge of the flange tightly against the countertop. A sealing compound may be used between the flange and the coveringif desired but it is not generally necessary with the recesseddrainboard construction.

The fastening means is secured to the sheet metal 14 on its undersurface spaced from the outer edge thereof to leave a marginal flangeadapted to rest on the counter top surrounding the opening 22 therein.In the recessed drainboard type with the flange 29 serving the purposeof resting on the counter top the fastening means secured to the undersurface of sheet 14 is preferably a metal strip 40 welded to the wall 24and provided with a plurality of projections or shoulders 42 extendingoutwardly therefrom, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 5. These projections orshoulders are all spaced a uniform distance from the under surface offlange 20. Preferably they are simply struck from the metal of the strip40 below a horizontal slit to form a wedge shaped projection with thepoint of the wedge down and the horizontal head up, as seen in FIGS. 2and 5. Those skilled in the art will understand that individual stripscan be used for each side of the drainboard, that they need not bejoined at the ends, although they may be if desired, and that suchequivalents are to be construed as covered by the term fastening stripas used herein.

A cooperating fastening strip .4 is secured to the counter top, e.g., byfastening means such as nails or srcews 46, with its top edge flush withthe top of the covering 5. It has projection engaging surfaces,preferably its lower edge, spaced from the top edge thereof, andtherefore from the top of the covering 5, a distance correspondingpractically with the distance between the tops of the projections 42 andthe under side of the flange 29. The lower edge of the strip 44 is bentinwardly to form an angular flange 48 along its length. This flangeextends inwardly far enough to engage the tops of the projections 42, asseen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. As stated in connection with the fasteningstrips 40, the strips 4-4 need not be continuous around the edge of theopenings 22 and preferably extend the major portion of the length of oneedge, as seen in FIG. 4 but a plurality of shorter strips can be used onone edge if desired.

As a specific example of suitable dimensions, a unit of the type shownin FIG. 1 was made from 18 gauge stainless steel which was 21 by 72 fromthe outer flange edge to the opposite outer flange edge. The flangeswere about wide, the wall 24 was high and a stainless steel sink 14" by16" was welded, ground and polished so as to appear to be a part of thedrainboard sheet. The fastening strip 40 was made of scrap 22 gaugestainless steel wide with the tops of the projections from the upperedge. These projections were made by slitting the strip about /8parallel to the upper edge and pressing the metal below the slit outabout 1 with the sloping part extending down about The projections wereabout 3.5 inches on centers along the strip. The cooperating fasteningstrip 44 was about /8" wide with a As flange at an angle of about withrespect to the flat portion of the strip, making the vertical width ofthe strip 44 practically the 7 same as the distance from the top of theprojections to the upper edge of the strip 40. The distance between thetwo fastening strips was slightly over so that the projections 42 justcleared the strip 44 when the unit was placed in the opening 22 to whichstrip 44 was nailed on about 4.5 inch centers. The counter top was /tplywood with Formica covering. As the unit was dropped into place theprojections 42 engaged the flange 48 as seen in FIG. 5, bending thestrip enough to pass the projection when force enough was applied to theunit to bend the flange 20 from its downward slope to practicallyhorizontal direction, at which time the projections 42 were sprungoutwardly under the flange 48 by the inherent resiliency of the strip.The unit was then firmly locked in place with the outer edge of theflange 20 very tightly and resiliently pressed against the Formicacovering. From the dimensions given it will be apparent that thethickness of the stainless steel sheet 14 with its walls 24 and flanges20 and the thickness of the fastening strips 40 and 44, the height ofthe projections 42 and the distance between the strips have all beenexaggerated in the drawing for purposes of clarity of illustration andthat the proportions in the drawing are not intended to represent actualproportions.

In the non-recessed type of sink-drainboard unit, or in the structureillustrated in FIG. 9 with the wide flange 20a, the fastening strip 40amay take the form of an angle strip with one leg welded to the underside of the flange or marginal edge a proper distance in from the outeredge thereof so that the projection will clear the strip 44 but engageit under the flange 48 when the unit is pressed down the properdistance.

FIG. 6 shows one of many possible modifications of the two fasteningstrips. In this modification the strip 50 on the cabinet top has nolower edge flange, although one may be used with equal effectiveness.The strip 52 on the drainboard is reversely bent at its lower edge toform an outwardly extending cam surface 54 whose upper edge 56 forms theprojections to engage the strip 50. The upper edge also has a pluralityof tongues 58 struck out therefrom and bent upwardly to engage the innersurface of strip 50 as seen in FIG. 6, and in side view in FIG. 7.

The fastening strip to be secured to the cabinet top 2 is an essentialfeature of a commercially acceptable rim construction because of thewide variation in thickness of the tops met in practice. This variationarises from the different thickness of both the wood and the covering.The fastening strip when properly secured to the edge of the opening inthe top, i.e., with its upper edge flush with the top of the covering 5,makes the proper installation independent of the thickness of the top 2since it can be securely nailed to a board of /2" thickness or greater.Should the piece 4 be thinner than that, it can be built up around theopening before applying the strip.

The strip 44 need not be perforated to receive the fasteners 46 if theyare strong enough to be driven through it and the cone of metal forcedout from the strip in driving a nail through it assists in holding itagainst vertical movement under the stress imposed by the resiliency ofthe flange 20. If the strip is perforated to make the passage of thenails easier, the diameter of the perforation should be less than thediameter of the nail so that some cone is produced in driving the nailinto place. If wood screws are used the conical under surface of thehead forces out a cone from the strip even if the perforation is aslarge as the diameter of the screw shank.

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 841,241,filed September 21, 1959, which has been expressly abandoned in favorhereof.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith certain specific embodiments, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that many modifications and variations can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claims is:

l. A sink adapted to be installed by being lowered downwardly into anopening in a counter top from above comprising a substantiallyrectangular stainless metal sheet having a stainless metal sink bowlpositioned therein away from the edges of said sheet whereby a margin ofsaid sheet surrounds the opening into said bowl, a surrounding wallintegral with and extending steeply upwardly from the outer edges ofsaid margin, said wall being narrow relative to the depth of said sinkbowl, a substantially flat flange consisting of a single thickness ofsaid stainless sheet metal free from perforations for fastening meansextending outwardly from and integral with the upper edge of said wallat an angle from zero to a few degrees downwardly from the horizontalentirely around the same, said flange being adapted to support the sinkin said opening by resting on the counter top and forming the finishedimperforate rim for the sink in said opening, and means wholly belowsaid flange for securing it tightly against said counter top, saidflange at the back of the sink being much wider than the flanges on thefront and two ends and having openings provided therein back from saidimperforate rim for faucet connections.

2. A kitchen counter top having a substantially rectangular openingtherein; a sink unit having an outwardly extending substantiallyrectangular flange substantially straight in cross section consisting ofa single thickness of stainless metal free from perforations forfastening means engaging said counter top adjacent to the openingtherein and forming the finished rim for said unit, a substantiallyrectangular vertical wall integral with and extending downwardly fromthe inner edge of said flange, a substantially rectangular horizontalsheet integral with the lower edge of said vertical wall, and a sinkbowl depending from the edges of an opening in said sheet; a fasteningstrip secured to the outside and extending substantially along thelength of said vertical wall on each of at least three sides of therectangle having a plurality of outwardly extending shoulders spaced auniform distance from the underside of said flange; cooperating sheetmetal fastening strips secured to at least three edges of said openingin the counter top with their upper edges flush with the counter top andthe lower edges engaging said shoulders, said flange being under stressholding its outer edge tightly engaged with said counter top.

3. A double duty self rimming sink and drainboard unit comprising asheet metal surface having a plurality of outer edges and including adrainboard area surrounding a metal sink, a fastening strip secured tothe under surface of said sheet metal along and spaced from each outeredge thereof to leave a marginal flange adapted to rest on a counter topsurrounding an opening therein having a like plurality of edges, saidfastening strip including a plurality of projections each formed by ahorizontal slit and an outward pressing of the metal below the slit toform a shoulder, said shoulders being uniformly spaced from theunderside of said flange, and a cooperating fastening strip adapted tobe secured to each edge of the opening in the counter top flush with thetop thereof and having shoulder engaging surfaces spaced from the topedge thereof a distance corresponding substantially to the distancebetween said shoulders and the underside of said flange whereby whensaid cooperating fastening strips are installed on the edges of theopening in the counter top with their top edges flush with the topthereof the said unit can be placed in said opening in the counter topfrom above and snapped into locked-in relation with the shouldersengaging the shoulder engaging surfaces on said cooperating fasteningstrip and the flange held tightly thereby against the top of thecounter.

4. A double duty sink and drainboard unit as set forth in claim 3 inwhich said marginal flange before installation slopes slightlydownwardly toward its outer edge and is adapted during installation tobe pressed downwardly and held by the engagement of said shoulders withthe shoulder engaging surfaces more nearly horizontal, thereby puttingthe flange under resilient stress to keep the outer edge tightly againstthe counter top.

5. A rim construction for sinks, drainboards and the like comprising arectangular flange consisting of a single thickness of stainless metalsubstantially straight in cross section, a metal fastening strip securedto the underside of the flange inwardly from its outer edges, said stripextending downwardly from and along at least a substantial part of eachedge of said flange, a plurality of shoulders pressed outwardly from theouter surface of said fastening strip below horizontal slits spaced auniform distance from the underside of said flange, said shoulders beingwell back from the outer edge of said flange so that the rim can beplaced into an opening in a counter top from above with the flangeresting on the counter top adjacent to the opening therein, said flangeextending outwardly from said fastening means at an angle from zero to afew degrees downwardly from the horizontal, cooperating fastening stripsadapted to be secured to the edges of an opening in a counter top withtheir upper edges flush with the top of the counter and their loweredges adapted to engage with said shoulders and thereby hold the flangein tight contact with the top of the counter.

6. A rim construction as set forth in claim 5 in which the cooperatingfastening strips are metal strips having the lower edges bent inwardlyso that during installation the shoulders wedge the strips apart topermit the shoulders to pass the bent-in edges and then snap theshoulders to engaging position as soon as the shoulders pass the bent-inedge.

7. A rim construction for sinks, drainboards and the like comprising arectangular flange consisting of a single thickness of stainless metalsubstantially straight in cross section, fastening means secured to theunderside of the flange inwardly from its outer edges, said meansextending downwardly from and substantially along each edge of saidflange, a plurality of shoulders on the outer surface of said fasteningmeans spaced a uniform distance from the underside of said flange, saidshoulders being well back from the outer edge of said flange so that therim can be placed into an opening in a counter top from above with theflange resting on the counter top adjacent to the opening therein, saidflange extending outwardly from said fastening means at an angle fromzero to a few degrees downwardly from the horizontal, cooperatingfastening strips adapted to be secured to the edges of an opening in acounter top with their upper edges flush with the top of the counter andtheir lower edges adapted to engage with said shoulders and thereby holdthe flange in tight contact with the top of the counter, said fasteningmeans being a metal strip reversely outwardly bent at its lower edge toform an outwardly extending cam surface whose upper edge forms saidshoulders, said upper edge having a plurality of struck out tongues bentupwardly and back- 0 wardly from said cam surface to engage the innersurface of said cooperating fastening strips when the upper edge of thecam surface engages the lower edge of the cooperating fastening strip.

8. A kitchen unit adapted to be installed by being lowered downwardlyinto an opening in a counter top from above comprising a substantiallyrectangular stainless steel metal sheet, a surrounding wall integralwith and extending upwardly from the outer edges of said sheet, asubstantially flat flange consisting of a single thickness of saidstainless metal sheet free from perforations for fastening meansextending outwardly from and integral with the upper edge of said wallat an angle from zero to a few degrees downwardly from the horizontalentirely around the same, said flange being adapted to support the unitin said opening by resting on the counter top and forming the finishedimperforate rim for the unit in said opening, a fastening strip securedto the outer surface of said wall having a plurality of outwardlyextending shoulders thereon spaced a uniform distance from the undersideof said flange formed by a horizontal slit and an outward pressing ofthe metal below the slit, and a cooperating fastening strip adapted tobe secured to each edge of the opening in the counter top flush with thetop u thereof and having shoulder engaging surfaces spaced from the topedge thereof a distance corresponding substantially to the distancebetween said shoulders and the underside of said flange whereby whensaid cooperating fastening strips are installed on the edges of theopening in the counter top with their top edges flush with the topthereof the said unit can be placed in said opening in the counter topfrom above and snapped into locked-in relation with the shouldersengaging the shoulder engaging surfaces on said cooperating fasteningstrip and the flange held tightly thereby against the top of thecounter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,121,183 Hill Dec. 15, 1914 2,157,786 Coordes May 9, 1939 2,273,806Webber Feb. 17, 1942 2,885,691 Juergens May 12, 1959 2,908,019 Lyon Oct.13, 1959 3,056,971 Hornik Oct. 9, 1962 3,071,780 Lyon Ian. 8, 1963 OTHERREFERENCES Domestic Engineering, pp. 34 and 35, August 1957.

1. A SINK ADAPTED TO BE INSTALLED BY BEING LOWERED DOWNWARDLY INTO ANOPENING IN A COUNTER TOP FROM ABOVE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLYRECTANGULAR STAINLESS METAL SHEET HAVING A STAINLESS METAL SINK BOWLPOSITIONED THEREIN AWAY FROM THE EDGES OF SAID SHEET WHEREBY A MARGIN OFSAID SHEET SURROUNDS THE OPENING INTO SAID BOWL, A SURROUNDING WALLINTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING STEEPLY UPWARDLY FROM THE OUTER EDGES OFSAID MARGIN, SAID WALL BEING NARROW RELATIVE TO THE DEPTH OF SAID SINKBOWL, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT FLANGE CONSISTING OF A SINGLE THICKNESS OFSAID STAINLESS SHEET METAL FREE FROM PERFORATIONS FOR FASTENING MEANSEXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM AND INTEGRAL WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID WALLAT AN ANGLE FROM ZERO TO A FEW DEGREES DOWNWARDLY FROM THE HORIZONTALENTIRELY AROUND THE SAME, SAID